Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, General; the United Nations, Volume I

Department of State Disarmament Files

Record of a Special Meeting of the Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments, Department of State, November 4, 1946, 11 a.m.

November 4, 1946, 11 a.m.

secret
PCA M–23 (Supplement)

Present:	General Crain,53 A–H, Deputy Chairman
	Messrs. Cummins, A–R, Executive Secretary
	Sohm, ESC, Secretary
	Blaisdell, SPA
	Dreier, IA
	Exton, MD
	Labouisse, EUR
	Matlock (for McGhee, UE)
	Ringwalt, FE
	Timberlake, NEA
Consultants:	Messrs. Brown, Le
	Hiss, SPA
	Elliott, IS
	Jamison, ESC
	Lacy, SEA
	Wainhouse, OA

United States Position With Respect to Regulation of Armaments

1. Action: After considerable discussion of the situation resulting from the position taken by Mr. Molotov on regulation of armaments in the General Assembly on October 29, 1946, the committee agreed that:

a. It would not at this time draft a proposed resolution for presentation to the UN;

b. The Russian motives in asking for disarmament, whether genuine or propaganda, should not affect the establishment of the U.S. position;

c. The United States should agree with the Russian position with respect to the importance of controlling atomic energy but insist that the Security Council be guided in its actions by reports and recommendations from the Atomic Energy Commission;

d. The United States should agree with the Russian position concerning the regulation and reduction of armaments other than weapons of mass destruction with the understanding that any such regulation or reduction must be implemented by effective safeguards by way of international inspection and other means;

e. Solution of the problems with respect to the peace settlements and the forces to be provided under Article 43 of the United Nations Charter should not be brought forth as essential preconditions to an agreement upon regulation of armaments.

2. Discussion of above principles (The numbered paragraphs below correspond to the paragraphs above):

a. Position due to instructions from higher authority.⁵⁴

b. The opinion of the people of this country and world opinion will be based upon the contents of the Russian resolution and not upon the motives actuating it.

c. This reiterates the present stand of the U.S., and of the United Nations as expressed in the resolution of the General Assembly of last January.

d. & e. The position of the U.S. will be improved by positive support of general disarmament rather than by attempting to attach conditions; however, the U.S. must insist upon adequate safeguards to be provided by international inspection and other means to insure that the disarmament will be multilateral.

Should the Russians object to international inspection they would be obstructing disarmament; should they agree to this inspection their present position with respect to control of atomic energy would be exposed as capricious.

53. James K. Crain, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas.
54. Presumably the Secretary of State.